Search for the Truth
by otankun
Summary: A Dark Angle Interrogator attempts to convince one of the Fallen to repent. However, things are not what they seem for either of them.


The search for the truth is not for the faint of heart.

None know this better than the Deathwing and this is the lesson that we shall cover today. You have bee told much about the shameful parts of our Chapter's history in your ascension to one of the Dark Angel's elite, but what you may not understand is why this has been kept from you for so long. The truth is a weapon that can be more destructive than any other known to man. As such, only those that are the most dedicated and worthy are entrusted with it.

Someone on Ancient Terra once said that the more one increases knowledge about the truth the more one increases sorrow. As Dark Angels we carry the heavy burden of that sorrow in the darkness so that others may remain ignorant of what is truly there. For most cannot shoulder the weight of certain truths and would be crushed by it.

Does that seem a contradiction to you?

Good.

That means that you are still sane.

This lesson is best illustrated in the cautionary tale of Heretic 0049.

Heretic 0049 was one of the Fallen that was captured not long after the destruction of Caliban. It was an awkward time for the Dark Angels for we had just lost our homeworld, our honor, and our beloved Primarch Lord El'Johnson. In addition, word had reached us of Lord Guilliman decree to separate the 1st Legion into smaller Chapters. One can only imagine how they managed to deal with so much loss and then having to be separated from the brothers that they still had. I understand that the Chapter Masters were barely able to keep morale from collapsing while carrying out the task of reorganizing everyone from Astartes, to Initiate, to serf into smaller units.

At the same time, the Chaplains were busy keeping their brothers focused as well as hunting for those of the 1st that had turned against their Primarch and the Emperor. Finding The Fallen had become such a priority that certain Chaplains were charged with the singular duty of tracking them down and making them repent their dishonor before their deaths.

So it was that Heretic 0049 was captured and brought to what was left of Caliban that would later be known simply as The Rock. Much effort was still being made to make the remains of our homeworld into the Fortress-Monastery that you know today. He was brought deep into The Rock amidst chapter serfs and Machanicus heavy servitors drilling out and working the newly dug tunnels. Two Astartes in full wargear escorted him through the cacophony of construction to this very cell that we are in now. They could only keep one hand on they're weapons for the other had to be ready to guide the heretic through the tunnels. His head had been covered in a cowl of heavy dark cloth so that he could make no contact with anyone until he reached this cell.

A lone figure waited for them at the heavy door, dressed in a simple hooded robe tide with a thick rope around his waist. As they approached the figure released the locks on the door by pressing a rune on the ornate Crozius he held in his left hand and the door swung outward to allow them all to enter.

The cell was carved into the surrounding rock at precise right angles giving it it's cubed shaped. It was large enough for an Astartes in full wargear to move freely, but the two armored Dark Angels had to slouch slightly to fit through the narrow doorway one at a time. They both kept a firm grasp on their charge as they placed him towards the back of the room. Heretic 0049 was made to face the entrance and the plain fatigues he had been wearing were cut from his body by the two guards until he way naked except for the hood.

He was a well-muscled man with the pale skin tone that was common among those born of Caliban stained in places by recent bruising. His size was larger than that of a normal human being, but still smaller than the Space Marines escorting him. Well-healed surgical scars marked his flesh at specific sites revealing surgical enhancement surgery had been performed in the distant past. The only other feature on his body was a branded mark on his right shoulder from one of the now extinct Order of Knights of Caliban.

"On your knees!" Ordered one of the guards as the other one collected the scraps of clothing. When the heretic did not comply the guard kicked him behind his knees with the metal toe of his armored boot. The heretic faltered and fell hard onto his knees. It was then that the cowl was removed.

Heretic 0049 squinted as the bright light above his head assaulted his eyes. The handsome, almost noble, features of his face smoothed out as he adjusted and he ran his fingers over the raw skin of his recently shaved scalp. He stopped in the act when he realized that there were shackles of sorts imbedded in his wrists. The devices were made of a material he did not recognize with intricate wiring extending from them into the nearby flesh. They were about 10 centimeters wide and protruded a few centimeters from the surface of his skin. He could only guess how far they were sunk into the flesh of his arms. A slight shuffle of his feet confirmed that similar shackles were around his ankles.

The two guards exited the cell and the door slammed shut behind them followed by the sound of locks being engaged. The prisoner raised his head and took a look at the other occupant in the room. The man was obviously an Astartes by his shear size and height of over two and a half meters tall. A Chaplain's Crozius Arcanum hung from the enhanced human's rope belt, which had the Dark Angels headpiece of a hooded knight holding a broadsword. Nothing could be discerned about his features for his robe covered his entire body and his hands were covered in worn black leather gloves. A featureless silver mask that had only a grill where his mouth should be and eye slits covered with black lenses covered his face. It was polished to a fine sheen so that when he stepped into the light the whole piece of metal shined brightly enough for Heretic 0049 to squint his eyes once again.

"Heretic 0049" The Dark Angel spoke in a deep monotone voice. "Is now your designation. It is how you shall be addressed for the remainder of your life. You will address me as Interrogator and nothing else. Any rights or privilege of rank you once had no longer exist as does your past life. You are here to confess your crimes and repent for your sins. Do you understand?"

Heretic 0049 responded by lunging at his jailor. He was stopped in the mid-action by an unknown source. His outstretched hands were only a few centimeters from the Interrogator's throat. A look of frustration mauled the prisoner's handsome features as the muscles of his body tensed to complete the assault. The Interrogator had not moved in the slightest except that his left hand now held the crozius. Heretic 0049 flew back a meter and was now suspended, spread eagle, above the cell floor.

"The devices on you wrists and ankles are called The Shackles of Reason." The Interrogator explained taking a couple of steps forward. "They cannot be removed and will only come off at the time of you confession or death. They will feed vitamin supplements and stimulants into your body to keep you alive and conscious. They are also equipped with a gravitational function that prevents you from harming me and allowing me to position you as I see fit."

As if to emphasize the last point the heretic found himself suddenly spun 90 degrees in the air so that he was now horizontally even with the interrogator's waist. He could not help but grimace at the sudden jerk of motion and at how his body was being held in its current position. The shackles pulled at his arms and legs to keep his torso from sagging, stretching his muscles uncomfortably. The Interrogator came closer to inspect him like a scientist examining a new test subject.

"You appear to be in good health in spite of your exposure to the Warp." He said referring to the realm of raw psychic energies that was home to the Arch-Enemy of Mankind: The Chaos Gods. "No outward signs of mutation. No cybernetic enhancements or augmentations. Though your teeth have been replaced with artificial ones. Do you have any medical conditions that I should be aware of?"

Heretic 0049 did not answer.

"Surgical scars from the non-Astartes enhancement procedures," Continued the Interrogator poking at the heretic's body. "Indicating you were too old to receive the gene-seed to become a legionary."

"I am a legionary!" Snapped Heretic 0049, speaking for the first time.

"I told you that whatever you were in your past life no longer exists." Said the Astartes dispassionately. He raised the Crozius to where the former Dark Angel could see it and pressed a rune on the shaft. An intense pain immediately ravaged the prisoner's entire body. His jaw snapped shut, nearly biting off his tongue, as he gritted through the torment. When it finally stopped every nerve in his body ached from the assault.

"The other function of the shackles is to administer pain directly into your nervous system. I can control where you feel pain, for how long, and at what intensity. What you just experienced was the lowest intensity. The genius of these shackles is that they can bypass the body's natural safeguards. Even a post human like myself will loose consciousness when the pain becomes too great, but these devices allow for the subject to experience pain beyond what the body would normally allow."

The interrogator pressed another rune on his Crozius and the heretic fell to the ground. After a minute he slowly sat up working feeling back into his strained muscles.

"Mark of the Order. Knights of Ophidian." Observed the interrogator nudging the prisoner's right shoulder that boasted the serpent shaped brand. "You kept it even after that band was dissolved. What purpose does that serve?"

"Why do you still use that as your mark?" Asked Heretic 0049 pointing to the winged, downward pointing sword that was the symbol of the Dark Angels embroidered over the Astartes' left breast.

"Query?" asked the interrogator.

"It was Lord Luther that created it." Answered the heretic, referring to the arch-traitor that had been Primarch Lion El'Johnson's closest friend and leader of the rebellion on Caliban. "He designed it after the ancient tale of Damocles that had a sword suspended over his throne. Lord Luther wanted it as a reminder of how life on Caliban was akin to having a sword flying over ones head. It could drop at any moment and end one's life if one was not alert."

The heretic immediately balled into a fetal position as he was assaulted by another wave pain.

"That was for speaking Heretic 0001's name!" Said the Interrogator, his tone never wavering in the least. "You have been brought back to what is left of your homeworld that you helped destroy to die. The only question is how you want to die. If you confess your acts of treason and dishonor, then you will die quickly and without suffering. If you do not confess you will die slowly in a manner that will redefine your understanding of pain and suffering. You will ultimately decide when those shackles are removed."

"Dishonor? Treason? The destruction of Caliban? Is that some sort of joke?" asked the heretic with a sneer. He was suddenly jerked upwards by his wrists to the point his feet dangled above the stone floor. Like a carcass in a meat locker he slowly floated towards the interrogator until his face was a few centimeters from the silver mask.

"Do I appear to be in a jovial mood?" The masked Space Marine asked.

"All I have ever done is serve my people and stay true to the oath that I took when I became a knight!" Said Heretic 0049.

"And yet you raised arms against your sworn brothers and killed your own people when you opened fire on the legion's fleet when it returned to Caliban." Responded the Interrogator.

"We were defending our homeworld against the true traitor that you hold in such high esteem! The Lion was just smart enough to not get caught."

"Query?"

"Why would someone with the tactical prowess of a Primarch take so long to reach Terra to aid the Emperor? El'Johnson should have been more than capable of getting there in time to fight the Warmaster. It was because he wanted to see which side would win before he acted. And when he returned to Caliban, he was the one that caused the warp rift that caused Caliban's destruction!"

The prisoner flew back from the interrogator and hit the far wall with a sharp smack of skin on rock. He should have passed out from the impact of his head on the wall but a does of stimulants from the shackles prevented it. He instead found himself once more in a spread eagle position as his vision cleared. No sooner had the outline of the Interrogator come into focus than the heretic tensed in another round of pain.

Heretic 0049 couldn't tell how long this round of agony lasted for the searing pain blocked out all other thoughts. All he could do was shut his eyes and try to remember to keep breathing. After what seemed like hours the pain stopped and every muscle in the heretic's body felt like it weighed 5 kilograms. His head slumped down to his chest causing beads of sweat to run down from his scalp and drip off his nose.

"Did you know that Heretic 0001 is here?" Asked the Interrogator. The heretic's head immediately shot up in spite of the fatigue in his body. "Oh yes. He's even here in this very cellblock. He was captured after his duel with The Lion and has sense spent every day begging for forgiveness that will never come."

"You know nothing about my Lord!" The heretic shot back.

"I know that he brought destruction to our world." Said the Interrogator walking to within half a meter of the heretic.

"He was the one that united our world!" The former knight shouted making a futile attempt to lounge at the man in the mask. "The Lion was very good at waging war against the opposition, but it was Luther that brought Caliban together."

The heretic continued to speak through the new shock of pain from saying Heretic 0001's name again.

"He could never win the hearts of our people because he was never truly one of us! The Emperor made El'Johnson in a laboratory on Terra and then sent him to Caliban. His heart was never of this world. It was what his father, the Emperor, wanted it to be. The Lion could never understand us because he was never one of us!"

"The Primarch was better than us." Interjected the Interrogator.

"Was he?" Asked the heretic, relaxing his neck and shoulders. "He could never hope to bring the people together in peace. Only a man can do that. A man that knows that hearts of other men and finds common ground amongst enemies."

"You speak of compromise."

"I speak of the one thing that My Lord had that your precious Primarch never had."

"And that would be?" Ask the Interrogator folding his arms.

"Courage!" The heretic spat. "The Lion was created to be more than a human by not having human weaknesses. What his creator failed to see is that true strength comes from overcoming weakness. What fear would a Primarch know with its enhanced mind and indestructible body? It is assured to win so it would never know the human fear of defeat or his desire to win. Why should the Lion, or any Primarch, choose to work to find a common bond with his rivals when he can simply crush them. He was always good at destroying those that did not share his vision no matter how justified they were."

"Was it this same courage that lead you to turn against the Emperor and embrace the powers of the Warp?"

"Do you know of the Trial of the Black Pearl?"

The Interrogator shook his head slightly.

"It is the final test that we of The Order of Ophidian took in our training. A squire is given a black pearl to wear around his neck. He is then subjected to a series of psychological and physical trials that he must endure. At anytime the squire can end the Trial by removing the pearl. The trials can last for days, even weeks at times."

"How barbaric." The Interrogator commented.

"The purpose of the trial is to instill in the squire that it is not the weapon or the armor that makes a knight. There will always be a blade that is sharper or a plate that is thicker. Such things can be worn by anyone."

The heretic nodded his head towards the Interrogator to emphasis his point.

"What truly makes a knight is the courage to face any fear and the strength of will to overcome any obstacle. These will last you far longer and serve you far better than any weapon, no matter who made them in a laboratory."

The prisoner slumped to the ground as the shackles finally released him from being pinned to the wall. His arms and legs burned with lactic acid from being forcefully hyper extended for a prolonged period. After a minute to work the feeling back into his extremities, the heretic sat up and met the gaze of his jailor. The doomed man found some comfort in the look of defiance that was reflected back at him in the polished metal of the Interrogator's mask.

"I see that you will be here for some time." The Interrogator finally said, matter of factly. "The others will wish to know of this."

The Space Marine then opened the cell door by pressing a rune on his weapon and turned to exit. A shroud of darkness fell across the room as the lights were extinguished. The former knight was disoriented as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden change of illumination. By the time he recovered the door had shut with the sound of locks sealing him in once again.

Heretic 0049 slumped to floor when he realized that the Interrogator wasn't coming back. A second after his flesh kissed the cool stone floor of the cell, he found himself rising off of it. At first the heretic thought the Interrogator had returned, but felt no pull at his arms or legs. A familiar feeling crept into his stomach and that's when he knew what was happening. While combat in zero gravity was uncommon he had done it on enough occasions to recognize the feeling of weightlessness.

The former legionnaire reached out to where he last remembered the floor being, but found it gone. He knew it was useless to try and find any other surface, but waved his arms and legs anyway to try and find some surface in spite of himself. The prisoner finally gave up and tried to relax. The lack of stimulation in the room ate away at him rather than sooth him. He eventually focused on his own breathing, as the room offered no other way form him to measure the passage of time. Sleep finally claimed him as he floated in the empty cell.

Heretic 0049 awoke as the lights in the cell suddenly coming back to life. He squinted against the attack on his eyes and could swear they were brighter than before. The gravity was restored a second later and he fell to the ground with a hard slap. In spite of it all, the Heretic couldn't help welcome the sensations.

The door opened and Heretic 0049 looked up as someone entered. The man that stepped into the cell was dressed in the same robe as the previous interrogator and carried the same Crozius Arcanum. However, this one was at least a head taller and wore a different mask. It was made of the same shinning metal, but was wrought in the image some snarling creature that looked to be from some poor soul's nightmare. It had an open mouth of sharp teeth that looked ready to rip out the Heretic's throat at anytime. A long hooked nose separated the eyes and a pair of small horns completed the look. The eyes were the same empty black pools.

"I will not-" Heretic 0049 began.

"Silence!" The new Interrogator cut off. His voice was low and deep that sounded like the growl of one of the Beasts of Caliban that were now extinct. The former knight flinched at the sound of it.

"I don't want to hear you confess." The large man said as he brought his mask down mere centimeters from the heretic's face. "I want to hear you scream."

The Interrogator took a step back, rising to his full height making him to appear to be growing taller. The heretic found his limbs jerked savagely as he was repositioned. He was now on his knees with his arms pressed together behind his back fully extended. His wrists were then slowly raised in an awkward angle putting strain on his arms and shoulders.

The Interrogator then grabbed the heretic's head by the jaw and once again brought them face to mask.

"Scream." He whispered as the prisoner gritted his teeth against the assault on his joints.

"SCREAM!" The Interrogator commanded and raised the heretic's arms a little high for emphasis.

"I…will...not…" Pain the flared behind Heretic 0049's eyes like someone had lit a plasma fire in his eye sockets. The agony made it impossible for the former knight to close his eyes so that he had no choice but to look at the Interrogator's horrible mask.

Yet still the heretic did not scream.

The Interrogator the sidestepped as the heretic was flung to the center of the cell. The doomed man's arms were stretched out above his head and his legs were pulled beneath him like a piece of elastic. The pain then moved from his eyes to his stomach that was already in agony from being pulled. The heretic thought that something had changed in the room, but couldn't discern what.

After a time the Interrogator tried another tactic. The heretic's legs were spread wide until they were forced into a ninety-degree angle with the rest of his body. The pain then moved again from the stomach to the groin.

"Scream you oath breaking, bastard son of an Ork!" The Astartes exclaimed with contempt.

Heretic 0049 raised his wary head and then realized what had changed when he saw his breath mist. It was getting colder in the cell. The prisoner managed to smirk at his captor and the pain in his groin grew so intense that he emptied what was left in his bladder and bowls onto the cell floor.

But he still did not scream.

Hours went by as Heretic 0049 received more torture, each round worse than the last. His body was twisted into all forms of stress positions and pain was inflicted on every inch of his body. The Interrogator lashed out at his prisoner the entire time with all manner of insults and curses. No deed, family member, or belief was spared the giant man's verbal assault, all the while demanding that his charge scream.

Yet he never did.

The heretic once again found himself sprawled flat against the room's cool stone. Only this time he was pinned to the ceiling with his tormentor casually looking up at him. He was covered in sweat by this point and barely conscious. Every time he was sure he would pass out from the torture he felt the familiar sensation of stimulants being injected into his system denying him any respite.

"You think that defying me gains you anything?" The Interrogator asked mockingly. "There is no honor in prolonging this. You lost all honor when you turned against the Primarch and the Emperor. You will die here in disgrace and no one will know of what has transpired here."

The Space Marine then used the top of his Crozius to raise the prisoner's slumped head to look at former knight's face. The heretic's jaw and eyes were half open and the Interrogator couldn't help but wonder if he was even listening anymore.

"You will break in time." The Dark Angel assured his prisoner. "I've already heard the screams of bigger men than you. I made Heretic 0001 scream. That was a sound to savor."

Heretic 0049's eyes opened at the mention of Heretic 0001. The Interrogator was happy with the reaction and released the former knight's head.

"For all your false indignation against Lord El'Johnson you traitors never considered what you did to your former brothers. It was not enough for you to dishonor yourselves!

"No!

"You had to imbrue the honor of our legion, our homeworld, and it's people. In all your self righteousness did you ever consider any of that?"

The pinned man stirred and mumbled something.

"Query? You want to say something, grox shit?" Asked the Interrogator raising the heretic's head again. The fatigue had left the former knight's face and his eyes were now focused on the man below him.

"I do solemnly swear," Said Heretic 0049 in a level and firm voice. "That I will be a true and honorable Knight of Caliban. I will serve its entire people, low and high. My shield shall defend the innocent and weak against all enemies. My sword shall vanquish all enemies that seek to do harm to the people. For only the weak seek to control the people. The strong set the people free. A knight's first love is truth and he shall pursue it no matter the hardship. For a lie is a dis-service to a knight's fellow man. Thus I swear. For the rest of my days until death claims me."

The Interrogator yanked his Crozius away, but the pinned man kept his head up.

"Knights were meant to serve all men. Not the ambition of a single man. No matter how great. That is what Lord Luther remembered and you forgot."

The heretic was then slammed to the floor in the puddle of his own excrement. The Interrogator left him pinned there as he exited the room. After the door had shut a loud voice filled the room from a source the pinned man couldn't see. It was an oath of fealty to the Emperor of Mankind on a loop that was being played at over 120 decibels.

Heretic 0049 was at a loss to determine if this was worse than the state the previous interrogator had left him in.

It took some time for Heretic 0049 to realize that the voice had stopped. His ears still ringed from listening to the booming voice. He was sure that both of his eardrums were ruptured. As the heretic slowly opened his eyes he saw that the lights had been lowered and found that the temperature was no longer freezing. His limbs felt like lead, but they were no longer restrained by the shackles.

It wasn't until he felt himself being turned onto his back that he realized he was not alone.

The latest interrogator was shorter than the other two but still taller than the heretic. His mask was fashioned in the shape of cherub with a gentle smile between its plump cheeks. The same black eyes met the heretic's gaze as he studied the latest interrogator. This one's touch was gentle as he eased Heretic 0049 into a comfortable position and even massaged the hurt out of his arms and legs.

"Here." Said the Interrogator offering Heretic 0049 a water skin. His voice was sweet and gentle on the heretic's abused ears. The cool water felt so refreshing on his cracked lips and he gulped at it like it was the greatest thing he has ever tasted.

"You've been through a lot." The Interrogator said after all the water had been drank. The water skin then disappeared into his robes and was replace with his Crozius Arcanum.

"I've been watching the entire time so I know what you've been through. You have endured more than most other men could stand. You truly are a Knight of Caliban. Please, just give them what they want!'

The Interrogator leaned in close so that only the two of them could hear him speak.

"I know that you never betrayed Caliban or it's people. The others just want to torture you so that they can relieve themselves of there own guilt. Honor has been met brother. There is no more need for you to suffer. If you just confess I will see that you are laid to rest with full honors and you name restored to its place of glory. I swear to you!"

The Interrogator's voice seemed pained as he pleaded.

"Please, end this now!"

Several minutes passed before Heretic 0049 replied.

"I can't do that." Said the heretic finally.

"Query?" Asked the Interrogator.

"Because it would-" The former knight stopped in mid sentence and he gave the Interrogator a strange look.

Heretic 0049 then rose to a sitting position with his back to the Interrogator. The Interrogator stood up from the kneeling position he had been seated in. Heretic 0049 began to make sounds that the Interrogator first thought were sobs. However, when the heretic through his head back and howled there was no mistaking that it was laughter. The Interrogator cocked his head to one side not sure how to respond.

"Very clever!" The heretic said between laughs. "You had me fooled."

"However," He said turning to face the Interrogator. "You can always tell a student of Godwane by how they speak. He would always make them use the word 'query' until they did it without thinking."

The Interrogator just stared for a few moments. He then rose to his full height that he had previously concealed in order to look less threatening.

Heretic 0049 laughed for another 30 seconds before speaking again, grinning. "Your enhanced body is very impressive, but in obtaining it you have a lost what it is to truly be human. That was your precious Lion's greatest flaw. In spite of everything that he could do beyond the range of normal men he could never understand the hearts of men.

"Do you know why?

"Because he wasn't human.

"And neither are you!

"You have become as inhuman as any xenos. In fact, you're worse. Aliens were born aliens, but you choose to be inhuman and forsake what it is to truly be human."

The Interrogator drew back his hood and removed his mask. He let it slip from his hands and looked upon Heretic 0049 for the first time with his own eyes.

He was surprisingly young for an interrogator with close cropped dark hair and dark eyes that were common among the sons of Caliban. The Interrogator's noble features were made even more so by the change that had made him a Space Marine giving him the look of a champion summoned from an old epic. As the heretic studied his captor's face, recognition set in and the grin on his face quickly vanished.

"You." Was all Heretic 0049 was able to say.

"It was you that rejected your humanity by refusing to embrace change. The Knightly Orders had their place long ago, but not anymore." Said the Interrogator stepping to within arm's reach.

"You clung to the old ways thinking that they were the only way, never once considering there may have been a better one. You claim to serve your fellow man, but did you ever consider how you could have improved their lives instead of just maintaining them?

"That was what the Emperor brought to us: change. And the new can only come after the end of the old. If the new are unable to take over after the old then the blame resides with you, doesn't it?

"The Lion did not take away your honor or purpose, he wounded your ego. That is what drove Luther to turn away from Lord El'Johnson. And why you turned away from me!"

The Interrogator's face, that had been the picture of calm, turned to a snarl of anger as he struck Heretic 0049 repeated across the face with the shaft of his Crozius. Bright red blood soon went flying across the room and ran down the length of the Dark Angle's weapon to cover his hand. The strikes halted suddenly and the Interrogator's eye went wide as he realized that Heretic 0049 had caught the bloody shaft in his mouth. The heretic gave the Space Marine a look of hatred with mad eyes that were exactly like his own. The former knight clenched down on the Crozius that was clenched in between his plasteel teeth and a rune flash green.

Heretic 0049 then released the weapon and sprung up like a compressed coil. The heretic then drove his right knee into the Interrogator's gut and immediately leaped back. The Dark Angle stumbled back, amazed that the prison still had that much strength left. Before the Space Marine could react, the former knight came charging towards him and dropped him to the floor with powerful close line across his neck.

The Crozius went flying out of the Interrogator's hand, which the heretic quickly snatched up. He pressed another rune on the weapon and the door to the cell opened. Heretic 0049 looked down at his tormenter and struck him across the face with his own symbol of office. After striking the Interrogator one last time, the heretic was satisfied that the Space Marine was out cold. He then dropped the Crozius, still sticky with his own blood, and ran out of the cell.

The Interrogator lay on the floor for only a few moments before getting to his feet. Aside from a bruise that was forming on the left side of his face, he was otherwise unaffected from the heretic's assault. The Dark Angle looked at the opened door then turned to the far wall. He looked at a specific spot on the stone surface that contained a hidden video and audio auspex.

"Heretic 0049 is on the move." The Interrogator said calmly.

"Acknowledged." Came a voice from nowhere in the strong accent of Caliban. "He is heading in the direction you anticipated."

The Interrogator then hurried out of the cell and ran after his captive.

How Heretic 0049 knew which way to go, the Interrogator would never know, for the path towards that particular cell was hidden deep within the Rock. However, he had been correct in assuming that if the heretic where to break free, he would head there. As the Dark Angle was about to reach his destination, a sound stopped him dead. It was a sound he had never expected to hear in his life: that of Heretic 0049 screaming.

The Interrogator turned the last corner that would bring him to a cell that very few, even among the Dark Angle's most senior commanders, knew about. The door was opened only half a meter, making the complex series of psychic wards carved into its surface visible. 0001 was engraved on a brass plaque above the door and at it's foot lay Heretic 0049 crying. The former knight had balled himself into a fetal position and was babbling incoherently through sobs.

As the Interrogator approached, he couldn't help but peer into the cell. It was the same dimensions as the cell Heretic 0049 had been in with more psychic wards engraved into every centimeter of the cell that was visible in the cell's dim light. A lone figure sat against the far wall, not seeming to have noticed anything that was happening. The figure was dressed in faded Dark Angle prison clothes and his face was hidden beneath his long dark hair.

The Interrogator turned his gaze away from the cell to huddled form of Heretic 0049. The Space Marine found it hard to believe that he was looking at the same man that he had looked up to as a boy, inspired him as a young man, and had defied him all through interrogation. The thing he saw now weeping on the floor looked like a broken shell of a human being that had never known pride a day in his life.

"What did you say to him?" Asked the Interrogator looking back at the man in the warded cell.

Heretic 0001 raised his head and locked as with the Interrogator as he said. "The truth."

Heretic 0049 snapped his head up at the sound of the voice and reached out a hand to pull at the Dark Angle's robes. The Interrogator looked down into the heretic's face and saw a glimmer of the man he had known so many years ago. The knight that the Interrogator had hoped to see one last time.

"Please," Pleaded the broken man at the Interrogator's feet. "Here my confession! Son."

The two guards that had escorted Heretic 0049 into his cell now carried his dead body away from the closed cell door that had 0001 above it. The Shackles of Reason had released when the heretic had confessed and the Interrogator had been quick to collect them. After the Interrogator had ended the Fallen's misery, he had draped his own robes over the heretic that had once been his father. If the guards disapproved of this honor they gave no sign of it.

As the Interrogator watched the two Dark Angles take the body away, he saw another armor figure approach. He immediately sank to one knee, as did the guards as newcomer passed them.

"Master Interrogator Godwane." Acknowledged the Interrogator.

"Rise." The Master Interrogator commanded.

The Interrogator did as he was bid and he stood up straight as his superior came up to him. The senior Chaplain was a slightly taller than the Interrogator with cold, piercing eyes that looked fight into a man's soul. He was clad in full batter plate that was painted in the black and white livery of the Chaplain Order. The Chaplain had decided not to don his skull fashioned helm and instead had it mag-locked to his left hip.

"Congratulations," The Master Interrogator said extending his hand. The Interrogator grasped his mentor's armored forearm and a brief smile appeared on the older Dark Angle's face. "You have gotten your first Fallen Confession. I thought it folly to use the escape scenario so soon, but you were proven correct."

"The key was convincing him that the fake Crozius was a means of escape." Explained the Interrogator. "Once he was out, I knew that he would head here."

The older Interrogator placed a gentle hand on his student's shoulder. "I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for you to interrogate that one."

"It was trying to hear the traitorous words coming from his mouth." The younger Interrogator admitted. "I now see why you warned me against interrogating him. There were times when I couldn't help empathizing with him."

"That is the hardest part of what we do." Said Godwane turning towards the cell door. "Facing those that inspired us, trained us, and, in your case, raised us. They are our Legion's past heroes that forged its heart and soul. They are a cruel reminder of what can happen to ever the greatest of us if we are lax in our faith or vigilance."

"Perhaps that is what we will pass on to the Chapters that will follow our Legion." Suggested the Interrogator turning to his Master.

The Master Interrogator met his student's gaze and another brief smile crossed his usually callous features. "Perhaps so."

The younger Dark Angle turned again to look at the cell door.

"I am surprised he did not try to escape." Said the Interrogator. "Why is he not restrained?"

"Heretic 0001 does not wish to escape." Explained Godwane looking at the door once again. "You could leave him a clear path all the way to a fully prepped ship and he would not move. He waits for the Primarch to return and here his confession. The mad fool speaks of nothing else.

"I am surprised that you left the cell door open for Heretic 0049. How did you-" The Master Interrogator stopped mid sentence when he saw the odd look his student was giving him. "Query?"

"I didn't open the door." The Interrogator admitted. "I thought you had done it."

They stared at each for a long moment then turned together to stare at the closed cell door. They both tried for several seconds to find a logical way that door could have been opened, but none came.

"Come," Said Godwane finally. "Let us be away from this place."

The Master Interrogator put his back to the cell and marched back the way he had come. The Interrogator lingered for a few moments and then turned to do the same.

A sudden noise stopped him, like something rolling lightly on the floor. The Interrogator turned to investigate and for the briefest of moments he could have sworn he had seen a child-like figure in thick woolen robes out of the corner of his eye. By the time the Dark Angle turned his head fully around the figure had stepped back into the shadows and was gone. He followed the direction of the sound and a round object rolled towards and stopped at his feet. The Interrogator bent down to pick it up and came back up with a black pearl pressed between his forefinger and thumb. He stashed the pearl away into the folds of his tunic and walked away from the cell.


End file.
